SHAMOKIN - Springtime is icing on the cake at the Kallaway Center for the Arts.
The Shamokin arts center, operated by the Northumberland County Council for the Arts and Humanities (NCCAH), has a springtime schedule filled with classes that will please anyone with a sweet tooth.
Wilton cake decorating classes are returning after popular classes in the late summer and fall, and instructor Christine Keefer is adding three specialty Saturday afternoon sessions: candy making, Easter sugar eggs and tall-tiered cake classes.
Jeanne Shaffer, executive director of the NCCAH, said the Wilton classes have been booked full since they were first implemented, prompting her to offer more sessions.
"It's a good staple because people are familiar with them," she said. "Instead of having to travel out of the area to take them, it's convenient to get them in Shamokin. It's a win-win situation for the arts council because we're offering something people are familiar with and at a reduced price."
Art classes
The Kallaway Center is also offering classes in arts that range from the traditional to the unusual.
A new basic drawing and sketching class will be hosted by Aaron Shutt on Sunday afternoons, and Claude Harrington, curator at the NCCAH's gallery and co-creator of many of the murals throughout Shamokin, will offer a series of oil painting workshops.
"Anybody who ever wanted to be an artist or dabble with paint and was afraid to - now's your chance," Shaffer said.
A wood burning class, also known as pyrography, is designed by instructor Matt Leavens to make students proficient in etching images into wood using heat.
"You'll be able to take up the hobby yourself after he shows you what to do with that," said Shaffer.
Children and adults alike are invited to join Deb Linkoski's dot art class.
"It's a really beautiful art, and it's done with all dots," said Shaffer. "It can be done on something as basic as a lock... bowls, candlesticks and furniture."
Fishing and fairies
Two classes scheduled for late spring will celebrate warmer weather.
The first, a fly tying class, will appeal to fishermen itching to hit the stream, Shaffer said.
She can vouch that the second, a garden fairy jar making class, will leave students with a beautiful art piece because she's built one with instructor Cyndee White.
"Last year, I had (one) outside on my tables on my patio," she said. "It's a cute little doll jar that reminds you of a snow globe without the snow."
Shaffer also already has her eye on summer classes, and has scheduled two sessions of a kids arts, crafts and educational workshop to take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays in July. Additional summer classes will be scheduled at a later date.
"We're hoping to have the place hopping in the summer," she said.
The NCCAH is always looking for people willing to offer instruction on any art form at the Kallaway Center in exchange for a small stipend.
To sign up to take or teach a course, contact Shaffer at 570-850-9121 or jeannes@ptd.net.